Car Thieves Away Laughing

ACT New Zealand Police Spokesman Dr Muriel Newman today demanded that Police Minister George Hawkins stop pretending that Labour is cracking down on crime, in light of new information showing that police have resolved less than 20 percent of vehicle crime throughout the country.

"Answers to my written Parliamentary Questions have revealed that police were able to resolve only 18.11 percent of all vehicle crime recorded in New Zealand over the 2001-02 period," Dr Newman said.

"Over this period, police recorded a total of 33,480 cases of vehicle crime throughout the country. Of that, only 6,066 were resolved - and the Minister stands in Parliament and tries to convince us that his Labour Government is dealing with crime.

"The fact of the matter is that police are under-resourced and under-staffed, and are losing the war on crime. Police requested 169 extra police officers from the last Budget - Labour gave them 50, then sent 35 to the Solomons.

"A core role of any government is to maintain law and order, and to ensure the safety of its citizens and their property. How can hard-working taxpayers feel safe when the reality is that their car will likely be stolen and, according to these figures, will never be returned? Not only that but, as a result, they will be forced to pay increasing insurance premiums.

"I am calling on Police Minster George Hawkins to come clean. He must front up to Parliament, and the public, and tell us what he plans to do about this crime epidemic. Police need the mandate and the resources to adopt a zero tolerance approach to crime - only then will we see crime resolution increase, and crime rates going down," Dr Newman said.

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